Dear Las Crucens, The November 2023 local election will be an important one for Las Cruces. There will be 3 City Council seats, 3 School Board seats, Municipal Judge, and Mayor on the November 2023 ballot. PLEASE VOTE IN THIS IMPORTANT ELECTION! Where and When to VoteEarly voting starts on Oct 10th at limited locations, with more locations opening on Oct 21th. Election Day is November 7th. Go here for full list of locations for early voting and Election Day 👇👇👇:https://www.donaanacountyelections.com/locations/ Candidate Information If you do not like the direction that Las Cruces is heading, you probably should NOT vote for the people who are currently in office in Las Cruces. There are multiple in-person candidate forums around Las Cruces. Some are listed here: https://www.lascrucesbulletin.com/stories/three-local-candidate-forums-coming,59752CCIA/Juan Garcia has candidate forum videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ_PzneWRnc&list=PL2dGWg–aKYz3K9SInxfT7D0b6NmJFoZUKRWG has candidate forums on their website here (these interviews are still happening so check back for additional recordings): https://www.krwg.org/tags/las-cruces-news If you are interested in knowing who I would vote for, see below. I myself have met with many of the candidates and have heard many others speak in-person. My own personal strategy for choosing who to vote for is to make winning the top priority. Thus, even if I may agree with another’s platform more, I will vote for the candidate who I think has the best chance of ousting the incumbent (person already holding the office). I have listed the candidates below in order in which I would vote for them and generally by who I think has the best chance of winning against the incumbent. City Council and MayorThe City Council determines local policies and laws related to crime, homelessness, drugs, and infrastructure. The following positions are up for election in November. Rank Choice Voting All City Council and Mayor positions will have Rank Choice Voting (RCV) elections. RCV can be somewhat confusing, but here is a summary of how it works:If one candidate gets 51% or greater of the votes in the first voting tally, that person wins the election. However, if no one gets 51% of the votes in the first voting tally, then there is an instant-runoff election as follows. the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated and those who had voted for that candidate will have their votes reassigned to whoever they had chosen as their 2nd choice. This process is repeated as many times as necessary until one of the candidates achieves 51% or greater of the votes. It is recommended to rank ALL of the candidates on the ballot to make sure that your vote is still considered in subsequent rounds. For instance, if you only vote for one candidate and that candidate is eliminated, then you have no voice in the subsequent rounds. Las Cruces MayorMayor Miyagishima is NOT seeking re-election. The following 7 people are running for Mayor.Eric Enriquez – Moderate Democrat, former Fire Chief, and former assistant City Manager. His top priority is making Las Cruces safer. I think he has the best chance of winning against Gandara.Isabella Solis Gina Ortega Mike TellezAlexander FresquezMaria HernandezMayor Pro Tem Kasandra Gandara (currently she is City Councilor for District 1)Las Cruces City CouncilDistricts 1, 2, and 4 are up for election. City Council positions are generally won by only a few hundred votes. You can view the City Council District Map here: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=19f66e403373475ab0cd6e794a7a748bBelow is a photo of 5 of the current Las Cruces City Councilors at the recent LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Las Cruces. Tessa Abeyta (on the left) is running for District 2. Johana Bencomo (in the middle) is running for District 4. Kasandra Gandara (2nd from the right) is running for Mayor.City Council District 1 There is no incumbent since Councilor Gandara is running for Mayor.Daniel Buck – Conservative Democrat who is very concerned about crime and homelessness issues in Las Cruces. I think he has the best chance of winning against McClure.Patrick PotterJason EstradaMark O’NeillCassandra McClure (she is the far-left progressives’ choice for this position) City Council District 2 Bill Mattiace – former Las Cruces MayorCouncilor Tessa Abeyta (incumbent) City Council District 4 Gabriel Duran Jr., Lorenzo M. MedinaRamon OrtegaCouncilor Johana Bencomo (incumbent) School BoardThe school board determines local school policies that effect the learning environment, curriculum, school calendar, etc. Recent policies passed by the Las Cruces school board include allowing transgender students to use whichever bathroom and locker room they choose and to compete in intramural sports with whichever gender they choose. School Board Districts 1, 4, and 5 are up for election. School board elections are NOT Rank Choice Vote elections. School Board District 1Joseph W. SousaPatrick Nolan (husband of City Councilor Johanna Bencomo) School Board District 4 Julia RuizEdward HowellTeresa Tenorio (incumbent and wife of Doña Ana County Commissioner Manny Sanchez) School Board District 5 Carol Cooper (incumbent and she IS a conservative)Ernest CarlsonJose L. Aranda Ed Frank You can see the district maps for school board here: https://www.lcps.net/page/district-maps The future of our City is hanging in the balance in this year’s election. Please vote for change in Las Cruces! Standing with you in solidarity,Sarah SmithFree People of the Southwest New Mexico Freedoms Alliance |